At INFINITE’s showcase for their third mini-album ‘INFINITIZE‘ that was held on May 15th, member Hoya remarked, “I will be trying my hand at acting this year. I have been confirmed for a new project that will be broadcast through tvN in the near future. It’s a role that requires me to use a dialect, so I am currently practicing.”

Hoya has been confirmed for tvN’s ‘Respond 1997‘, which will also feature other artists such as Seo In Guk, Eun Ji Won, Jung Eunji, Sung Dong Il, and more. It is a situational comedy , and the backdrop is the entertainment industry in the 1990′s.

In related news, Hoya and the rest of his INFINITE members traveled to five different cities by helicopter on May 15th and held showcases to introduce their new album. The final showcase took place at Olympic Park in Seoul with 3,000 fans.

Singer Seo In Guk and Infinite’s Hoya are attracting attention with their uniform fashion.

On July 4, the production crew of the cable channel tvN released some posters of Answer to 1997 (written by Lee Woo Jung, directed by Shin Won Ho) in which Seo In Guk and Hoya are posing in high school uniforms.

In the series, Hoya is to show a new side through his character Kang Joon Hee, a friendly, careful person also known as “counseling office.” Seo In Guk, on the other hand, plays Yoon Yoon Je, an old, reliable friend of Shi Won (played by Jung Eun Ji) since their childhood.

Netizens who saw the posting commented: “I just took a quick glimpse of Hoya’s picture, and I gotta say, it’s daebak.” “They look great in uniforms from the 1990s.” “I just fainted at Seo and Hoya’s glance.” “What am I gonna do? My heart’s beating too fast.” “Seo looks cooler.”

Answer to 1997 is a retro drama series telling stories of six high school students in 1990s in which H.O.T and Sechs Kies created a “revolution.” Character Shi Won is a maniac of the first generation of “idols” (refers to H.O.T and Sechs Kies), while Yoon Je and Joon Hee appear as “Shi Won admirer” and a “walking counseling office.” The first episode will be on July 24 at 11:00 p.m.

Photos of singers Eun Ji Won, Seo In Gook, and Infinite's Hoya in school uniforms grab the attention of female audiences.

The character cuts of the stars in tvN's new weekend drama 'Answer to 1997,' premiering on the 24th, have been revealed.

'Answer to 1997' is the drama based on the 1990s craze over idol groups HOT and Sechs Kies with characters '1st generation groupie', Si Won, 'Si Won admirer' Yoon Je, '0% real success' ero number one Hak Chan, and 'walking consultation window' Joon Hee among six high school students.

In 2012, the main characters at age 33 gather for a high school reunion. Among the characters, one couple announces their marriage, as they reminisce on their memories of 1997.

In particular, the character cut of Seo In Gook, who plays Si Won (Jung Eun Ji)'s best friend Yoon Yoon Je, is capturing interest. In his cut, he is staring at someone in glittering eyes with the phrase, "I want to confirm. If this is my first love."

It is apparent that Eun Ji Won, who plays 'erotic supreme' Do Hak Chan, will be the comedic relief of the drama with his playful expression.

Netizens raved, "I'm laughing just looking at the character photos. Even though they're wearing 90s school uniforms, they still look good. I fainted at Seo In Gook and Hoya's gazes. What do I do? My heart is already shaking."

Infinite’s Hoya recently drew a lot of attention by posing like a member of the idol group H.O.T.

Hoya will appear as an actor for the first time on tvN’s new weekly series Reply 1997. He plays the role of a mysterious character named Kang Jun Hee, who captures women with his gentle personality and handsome appearance.

He is the best dancer in Busan and he will also capture the public’s attention by performing various dances, which were very popular back in the 90s.

In the pictures, which were released online, Hoya is posing like a member of group H.O.T, who was one of the best idol groups in the 90s. He is wearing a school uniform with hip hop-like pants and his arms are stretched apart like he is acting tough.

People responded: “Even though he looks like he is tough, he is really handsome. I can’t wait to see him as an actor.” “I laughed out loud at his school uniform. I wore a uniform like that in the 90s.”

The series is about six high school boys and girls in Busan in 1990, when idol groups H.O.T and Sechs Kies were very popular. The boys and girls have become 33 years old in 2012 and gather together to celebrate two of their friends’ weddings. Then they reminisce in memories of their childhood.

Looks like cable station tvN has another hit on its hands, with its nostalgic comedic drama Answer Me 1997 causing a buzz from the moment it hit airwaves. The ratings are doing well, and in fact the rebroadcasts are outperforming the initial ones as word of mouth grows and attracts more attention to the charming, heartfelt show.

The show premiered last week with Episodes 1 and 2, which were packaged together into one hour(-plus)-long installment. That drew a solid average rating of 1.2%, which peaked at 1.8%. It performed particularly well with teenage females with an average 2.2% rating in that demographic, with a high of 3.4%. Twenty- and thirtysomething women also had a strong response to the drama (holla), with a 2.1%.

This week aired Episodes 3 and 4, which performed similarly to its first week (1.2% average rating, 1.7% peak), but perhaps more notable is that the reruns improved upon those numbers by inching up to 1.6%, with a high of 2.4%.

Following Kim Tae Won, Jung Joo Ri, Jung Myung Ok, Park Ji Yoon, and Ryu Dam, Noel‘s Kang Kyun Sung will be next to make a cameo appearance on the popular tVN drama ‘Reply 1997‘.

On August 16th, his agency, ITM Entertainment, revealed, “Kang Kyun Sung will be making a surprise cameo appearance on tvN’s ‘Reply 1997′.”

The singer shared his thoughts on his first role: “The acting field is a bit awkward and burdensome for me, but I’m very honored and thrilled to be able to make a cameo appearance in a drama I enjoy watching… I’ll work hard to show the best of my acting.”

‘Reply 1997′ tells the story of a high school student in Busan during the ’90s who idolizes boy groups H.O.T and Sechskies.

If 'Reply 1997' were a public broadcaster drama, how would its influence have been?

'Reply 1997', a drama that is airing on the cable channel tvN, is enjoying great popularity with a 4% range viewer rating that is like a jackpot for a cable TV drama. In spite of its disadvantage as a cable TV drama, the drama is receiving much love from the viewers.

The drama's popularity on the 'net' is much greater than many other dramas from the public broadcasting systems. Cable TV programs are viewed more on the web or by downloads due to its characteristics; its sensory popularity is beyond 4%.

One broadcaster said, "Since it is a cable program that has fixed viewers, if we expand the spectrum of the viewers to the all audience, You can regard the drama's popularity at about 20~30% viewer rating."

He added, "Its popularity and issue power already exceed its viewer rating. Because the drama's target is teenagers and twenties, if we sum up online replay services and so on, it should have better score than other handsome public broadcaster's dramas."

'Reply 1997' Has Been Ranked First With The Most Buzz On Social Networking Services

Cable network tvN's "Reply 1997" shows its mettle as one of the most popular shows. The drama is noted for causing nostalgia around the retro 90's era. CoB (Consumer's Content Consuming Behavior) measures the worth of content influence and for the first week of September, "Reply 1997" claimed first place for social media buzz.

"Reply 1997" beat out shows on mainstream networks such as KBS 2TV's "Bridal Mask" (2nd) and SBS's "Running Man" (3rd) for the first week of September (9/3~9/9). It was named as the show with the most social media buzz (mentions on SNS, blogs, cafés, and various internet communities).

The show experienced tremendous popularity in many different areas such as broadcasting networks, culture, fashion, and trend. This just goes to show how popular "Reply 1997" has become.

The backdrop for the drama "Reply 1997" (written by Lee Woo Jung, directed by Shin Won Ho) is Busan in the 90's the era of H.O.T and Sechs Kies. The retro drama is about the lives of six high school students with distinct and unique personalities: H.O.T's fanatic fan, Shi Won (played by A Pink's Jung Eun Ji), romanticist Yoon Jae, who only has eyes for Shi Won (played by Seo In Gook), ero-king Hak Chan (played by Eun Ji Won), sweet and sensitive Joon Hee (played by Infinite's Hoya) and etc.

The drama opens in 2012, where the main characters meet for a class reunion and talk about all the events that happened in their lives in the year, 1997. The show was very well received and achieved explosive popularity for its intricate and tightly woven storyline.

It was especially praised for being able to recreate the 90s extremely well while balancing the mysterious plotline of finding Jung Eun Ji's husband. The actors were also recognized for their excellent acting as the drama was able to deliver comedic as well as touching moments at the same time.

The title of the last episode of "Reply 1997" has gathered a lot of interest. Episode 16 is titled "The Reason That First Love Never Succeeds" and will air this coming Tuesday on the 18th at 11 pm.